Personhood Oklahoma appeals to U.S. Supreme Court, case could overturn Casey

Successful Personhood USA Supreme Court Appeal could overturn 1992 Casey decision

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/successful-personhood-usa-supreme-court...

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Oklahoma State Supreme Court has moved to deny Oklahoma citizens a ballot access initiative for Personhood.

Personhood USA stated in a release today that “On April 30, repeatedly citing Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Oklahoma State Supreme Court denied Personhood Oklahoma’s right to petition, ruling the ballot measure ‘unconstitutional.’”

Calling the courts decision “a rare move against the people of Oklahoma”, the pro-life organization charges, “the State Supreme Court ruled against the ballot initiative before it went to a vote, denying the people’s right to vote on the issue and the circulator’s right to petition the government.”

Citing the Casey decision, Personhood USA states, “Justice Scalia’s dissenting opinion brings weight to the State’s right to allow the people to decide the permissibility of abortion:

“The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.” Justice Scalia, Planned Parenthood vs. Casey.”

“Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade, according to Justice Scalia’s opinion, have no basis in law. Because of this, the undue burden of the standard of Casey is completely unworkable,” explained Gualberto GarciaJones, Personhood USA legal analyst. “With such a vague standard and any variety of interpretations, it is impossible for citizens to understand it and apply it. Justice Scalia said citizens can resolve the issue of abortion by persuading one another and voting. If Oklahoma citizens are denied the opportunity to do so, our only recourse is to petition the Supreme Court.”

Steve Crampton, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, who represents Personhood Oklahoma, said: “This ruling epitomizes judicial overreaching. It not only misinterprets and misapplies federal constitutional law, but it also denies states’ rights and strips Oklahomans of their right to petition for a substantive change in state law, which is guaranteed under the state constitution. We are hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will reverse this decision.”

While five U.S. Supreme Court Justices are required for a favorable ruling, only four are required to approve a petition for certiorari.

Personhood Oklahoma had been collecting signatures for the Personhood Amendment for two months. The amendment reads, “A ‘person’ as referred to in Article 2, Section 2 of this Constitution shall be defined as any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being to natural death. The inherent rights of such person shall not be denied without due process of law and no person as defined herein shall be denied equal protection under the law due to age, place of residence or medical condition.”

“The people of Oklahoma will not be silenced,” explained Dan Skerbitz, Director of Personhood Oklahoma. “We have 13,000 volunteers who have been circulating petitions and are ready and willing to continue this fight for human lives. We are more determined than ever to rise up against judicial tyranny and cowardly State Representatives who do not represent the will of the people of Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma Personhood Case to be Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court

http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=1188

Oklahoma City, OK – The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the ballot initiative on personhood yesterday as unconstitutional under the federal Constitution, before it was even placed before the voters. In its two-page opinion, the court held that the proposed personhood amendment violated the Fourteenth Amendment as interpreted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Personhood Oklahoma, the sponsor of the initiative, was represented by Liberty Counsel.

The proposed amendment would have defined “person” as “any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being to natural death.”

The Oklahoma attorney general had approved the ballot title and summary of the initiative after rewriting a portion of it, and Personhood Oklahoma was in the process of gathering signatures in order to place the issue before the voters at the November election, when the ACLU, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and others filed a legal challenge. Briefs were filed on April 20, and ten days later, on April 30, the court found the initiative unconstitutional.

“The court’s actions here were premature at best and profoundly overreaching at worst,” said Steve Crampton, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, who served as lead counsel for Personhood Oklahoma in the case. “This proposed amendment did nothing more than define a term in the state constitution and would not have immediately impacted abortion. Moreover, the people of Oklahoma are constitutionally guaranteed the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution. This ruling effectively nullifies that right and denies the citizens of Oklahoma their right to vote on the matter,” Crampton stated.

Personhood Oklahoma will appeal the ruling to the United States Supreme Court. This will be the first “personhood” case to be brought before the Supreme Court. It thus presents an historic opportunity for the Court to address the issue of a state’s right to amend its own constitution to acknowledge what science has long recognized, that human life begins from the moment of conception or fertilization and should be protected in law from its earliest beginnings.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Personhood USA to Appeal Oklahoma Supreme Court Decision to US Supreme Court

http://personhoodoklahoma.com/news/2012/05/personhood-usa-to-appeal-okla...

Washington – May 1, 2012 – The Oklahoma State Supreme Court has moved to deny Oklahoma citizens their right to a ballot access initiative for Personhood.

On April 30, repeatedly citing Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Oklahoma State Supreme Court denied Personhood Oklahoma’s right to petition, ruling the ballot measure “unconstitutional.”

In a rare move against the people of Oklahoma, the State Supreme Court ruled against the ballot initiative before it went to a vote, denying the people’s right to vote on the issue and the circulator’s right to petition the government. In the Casey decision, Justice Scalia’s dissenting opinion brings weight to the State’s right to allow the people to decide the permissibility of abortion:

“The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.” Justice Scalia, Planned Parenthood vs. Casey.

“Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade, according to Justice Scalia’s opinion, have no basis in law. Because of this, the undue burden of the standard of Casey is completely unworkable,” explained Gualberto GarciaJones, Personhood USA legal analyst. “With such a vague standard and any variety of interpretations, it is impossible for citizens to understand it and apply it. Justice Scalia said citizens can resolve the issue of abortion by persuading one another and voting. If Oklahoma citizens are denied the opportunity to do so, our only recourse is to petition the Supreme Court.”

Steve Crampton, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, who represents Personhood Oklahoma, said: “This ruling epitomizes judicial overreaching. It not only misinterprets and misapplies federal constitutional law, but it also denies states’ rights and strips Oklahomans of their right to petition for a substantive change in state law, which is guaranteed under the state constitution. We are hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will reverse this decision.”

While five U.S. Supreme Court Justices are required for a favorable ruling, only four are required to approve a petition for certiorari.

Personhood Oklahoma had been collecting signatures for the Personhood Amendment for two months. The amendment reads, “A ‘person’ as referred to in Article 2, Section 2 of this Constitution shall be defined as any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being to natural death. The inherent rights of such person shall not be denied without due process of law and no person as defined herein shall be denied equal protection under the law due to age, place of residence or medical condition.”

“The people of Oklahoma will not be silenced,” explained Dan Skerbitz, Director of Personhood Oklahoma. “We have 13,000 volunteers who have been circulating petitions and are ready and willing to continue this fight for human lives. We are more determined than ever to rise up against judicial tyranny and cowardly State Representatives who do not represent the will of the people of Oklahoma.“